DVD Review – “Scream of the Banshee”

Published on August 20, 2011

Scream of the Banshee

(2011)

By Jason Marsiglia

Out of 4

In 1188 A.D., a deadly banshee terrorized Ireland, forcing the Templar knights to find and vanquish the evil fairy. Using a bizarre medieval device that can simultaneously enclose and decapitate the wench, she’s killed and her severed noggin is boxed up and buried for centuries. Shoot ahead to present day, and the “Santa Mira Archiving Team” assembled by a Professor Whelan (Lauren Holly, still a knock-out) and her archeology students are carefully examining and archiving old Irish relics and artifacts.

They stumble onto a false wall in the basement, where behind it lies the small crate – within, the medieval device housing the banshee’s head. They get it open and find the ghastly head of the banshee, that quickly re-materializes and wreaks havoc on the teacher and her students.

Considering this was co-produced by “SyFy Originals”, the same production company that churns out silliness like Dinocroc and Sharktopus, Scream of the Banshee is a surprisingly stylish little B-Movie, with decent performances, a fun story and some nasty make-up. It’s also refreshing to see a film with a mostly teenage cast of characters that weren’t entirely annoying or particularly stupid, as most are in these films.

Holly does a wonderful job as the no-nonsense professor, attempting to get to the bottom of the banshee’s mystery and find a way to re-vanquish the bitch. I’ve always enjoyed her performances (I still love Dumb & Dumber), and it certainly doesn’t hurt that she still looks damn fine in tight clothes and swinging a shotgun.

However, by the film’s half-way point, it starts to become increasingly silly and falls completely to pieces during its clumsy finale. Lance Henriksen is lost in a small, thankless role as a wacked out loon who possesses the secret to defeating the banshee, and the absolutely stunning twin models, Kim and Misty Ormiston, are shamefully packed under layers of ugly prosthetics as the banshee. I get that the creature is supposed to be a hideous specter, but why get such incredibly beautiful girls cast if you’re just going to hide it all, save one scene where she attempts to seduce someone as a hooded nymph?

That was another problem I had with the film as well – the constant shifting of the banshee’s image. The severed head looked horrifying in all of its rubbery. Its toothy grin was anything but inviting, and I couldn’t wait to see this gnashing thing in action. Nope! One half of the film, the banshee looks like Black Claw from Scalps, and the next, she looks like a Venus fly trap! Needless to say, despite the fun gore that gets splattered and an opening half that seemed promising, Scream of the Banshee rushes to the finishing line as a sloppy, shrieking mess.

C: Lauren Holly, Todd Haberkorn, Marcelle Baer, Leanne Cochran, Lance Henriksen. D: Steven C. Miller. Sub genre: Monster. Time: 90 minutes. Ratio: (1.78:1) Widescreen. Rated R: Strong, gruesome violence, brief sexuality, partial nudity, strong language and gore.

The Best Digital Bang For Your Hard-Earned Buck:

No Blu-Ray on tap just yet, so all that’s available is a DVD and even that is kind of bare-bones, only containing an Audio Commentary by Director Steven C. Miller and Composer Ryan Dodson. Even though that’s really all there is, it’s a really good commentary, and a fun listen. Both guys are very candid and easy-going, also having no problems pointing out the film’s shortcomings and laughing along with them. They seem like good guys, and I hope they move on to bigger and better things.

Sequels: None.

Remakes: None.